DynCorp

Last updated February 19, 2019

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DynCorp (/ˈdaɪnkɔːrp/),[5] most recently DynCorp International, is an American Global service provider.[6] Started as an aviation company, the company also provides flight operations support, training and mentoring, international development, intelligence training and support, contingency operations, security, and operations and maintenance of land vehicles.[7] DynCorp receives more than 96% of its more than $3 billion in annual revenues from the U.S. federal government.[8][9]

The corporate headquarters are in an unincorporated part of Fairfax County near Falls Church, Virginia. However, the company's contracts are managed from its office at Alliance Airport in Fort Worth, Texas.

Fort Worth Alliance Airport is a public airport 14 miles (23 km) north of the central business district of Fort Worth, Texas. The airport is owned by the City of Fort Worth and managed by Alliance Air Services, a subsidiary of Hillwood Development, and is the second largest airport facility in North Texas, behind only Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW).

Fort Worth is the 15th-largest city in the United States and the fifth-largest city in the state of Texas. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly 350 square miles (910 km2) into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker and Wise. According to the 2017 census estimates, Fort Worth's population is 874,168. The city is the second-largest in the Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan area, which is the 4th most populous metropolitan area in the United States.

In warfare, a theater or theatre is an area in which important military events occur or are progressing. A theater can include the entirety of the airspace, land and sea area that is or that may potentially become involved in war operations.

Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia is a landlocked country located in western-central South America. The capital is Sucre while the seat of government and financial center is located in La Paz. The largest city and principal industrial center is Santa Cruz de la Sierra, located on the Llanos Orientales a mostly flat region in the east of Bolivia.

Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina, and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeastern Europe, located within the Balkan Peninsula. Sarajevo is the capital and largest city.

History

Beginnings (1946–1961)

DynCorp traces its origins from two companies formed in 1946: California Eastern Airways (CEA), an air freight business, and Land-Air Inc., an aircraft maintenance company.[14] California Eastern Airways was founded by a small group of returning World War II pilots who wanted to break into the air cargo business.[15] They were one of the first firms to ship cargo by air, and within a year, the firm was serving both coasts.[16][17] California Eastern Airways diversified into multiple government aviation and managerial jobs, airlifted supplies for the Korean War, and was responsible for the White Sands Missile Range (a client that DynCorp has retained for 50 years).[15][17]

World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. The vast majority of the world's countries—including all the great powers—eventually formed two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis. A state of total war emerged, directly involving more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. The major participants threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. World War II was the deadliest conflict in human history, marked by 50 to 85 million fatalities, most of whom were civilians in the Soviet Union and China. It included massacres, the genocide of the Holocaust, strategic bombing, premeditated death from starvation and disease, and the only use of nuclear weapons in war.

The Korean War was a war between North Korea and South Korea. The war began on 25 June 1950 when North Korea invaded South Korea following a series of clashes along the border.

White Sands Missile Range (WSMR) is a United States Army military testing area of almost 3,200 sq mi (8,300 km2) in parts of five counties in southern New Mexico. The largest military installation in the United States, WSMR and the 600,000-acre (2,400 km2) McGregor Range Complex at Fort Bliss to the south are contiguous areas for military testing. On 9 July 1945, the White Sands Proving Ground was established for testing German and American long range rockets. Just seven days later, the first atomic bomb test, code named Trinity was exploded at Trinity Site, near the north boundary of the range.

In 1951, Land-Air Inc., which implemented the first Contract Field Teams (teams of technicians that maintained military aircraft for the United States Air Force), was bought by California Eastern Aviation Inc.[17][18] DynCorp still holds the contract 50 years later, maintaining rotary and fixed-wing aircraft for all branches of the U.S. Armed Forces.[17] At this time, revenues for the company reached $6 million.[17]

The Contract Field Teams program is a program of the United States Air Force designed to provide temporary and long-term labor support for a variety of technical service needs; maintenance and repair, depot services, inspections, modernization for contingency support for aircraft, vehicles, weapon systems and other equipment. The CFT program is currently administered by the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center at Tinker Air Force Base, and has been in place since 1951.

The United States Air Force (USAF) is the aerial and space warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the five branches of the United States Armed Forces, and one of the seven American uniformed services. Initially formed as a part of the United States Army on 1 August 1907, the USAF was established as a separate branch of the U.S. Armed Forces on 18 September 1947 with the passing of the National Security Act of 1947. It is the youngest branch of the U.S. Armed Forces, and the fourth in order of precedence. The USAF is the largest and most technologically advanced air force in the world. The Air Force articulates its core missions as air and space superiority, global integrated intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, rapid global mobility, global strike, and command and control.

In 1952, the company, renamed to California Eastern Aviation, Inc., merged with Air Carrier Service Corporation (AIRCAR), which sold commercial aircraft and spare parts to foreign airlines and governments.[17]

Dynalectron (1962–1987)

By 1961, California Eastern Aviation needed a new name to reflect the growing and diversifying company. The name "Dynalectron Corporation" was selected from 5,000 employee suggestions.[17] In 1976, Dynalectron established their headquarters in McLean, Virginia.[19] Due to its growing size, the company restructured into four main operating groups: Specialty Contracting, Energy, Government Services, and Aviation Services.[17] In the 30 years following the foundation of CEA, Dynalectron had acquired 19 companies in 30 years, had assets of $88 million, maintained a backlog of $250 million, employed 7,000, and had annual sales of $300 million.[17]

In 1964, Dynalectron diversified into the energy services business with the acquisition of Hydrocarbon Research, Inc.[20] Through this acquisition, Dynalectron developed a process called H-Coal, which converted coal into synthetic liquid fuels.[21] The work began to attract national attention with the Arab Oil Embargos of the 1970s.[22] By the early 1980s, Texaco Inc., Ruhrkohle AG, and C. Itoh & Co. were all marketing Dynalectron's H-Oil process.[23][24]

Between 1976 and 1981, the company had two public stock offerings and acquired another 14 companies.[25] By 1986, Dynaelectron was one of the largest defense contractors in North America.[25]

DynCorp and expansion (1987–2003)

DynCorp's headquarters

In 1987, Dynalectron changed its name to DynCorp.[citation needed] In 1988, DynCorp went private to avoid a hostile takeover by Miami financier Victor Posner, via an employee initiative led by Daniel R. Bannister.[26] Bannister, as T. Rees Shapiro wrote in his 2011 obituary, "was paid $1.65 an hour when he joined DynCorp as an electronics technician in 1953," rising to serve as its president and CEO (1985 to 1997).[27]

In 1994, DynCorp's revenues were approximately US$1 billion.[citation needed] By the time of his retirement in 2003, Shapiro notes that Bannister "oversaw the acquisition of more than 40 companies… [and] was credited with helping to mold… an aviation services company into a sprawling conglomerate that employed 24,000 people and earned $2.4 billion in annual revenue."[27] As well he "oversaw DynCorp contracts to operate missile test ranges for the Defense Department, develop vaccines for the National Institutes of Health and install security systems in U.S. embassies for the State Department."[27] Shapiro notes over Bannister's tenure, Dyncorp had also "supplied bodyguards to Haitian President Jean Bertrand Aristide in the 1990s and to Afghan PresidentHamid Karzai in the early 2000s."[27]

In December 2000, DynCorp formed DynCorp International LLC, and transferred to it all of its international business to this entity.[citation needed] DynCorp Technical Services LLC continued to perform DynCorp's domestic contracts.[citation needed]

Sale to CSC, IPO, and purchase by Cerberus Capital (2003-present)

In March 2003, DynCorp and its subsidiaries were acquired by Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC) for approximately US$914 million.[28] Less than two years later, CSC announced the sale of three DynCorp units (DynCorp International, DynMarine and certain DynCorp Technical Services contracts) to Veritas Capital Fund, LP for US$850 million.[28] After the sale, CSC retained the rights to the name "DynCorp" and the new company became DynCorp International.[29]

On April 12, 2010, DynCorp International announced a conditional deal to be acquired by private equity investment firm Cerberus Capital Management at a price of $17.55 per share ($1 billion).[31] The deal was agreed on 7 July 2010.[32]

In December 2011 the company hired Michael Thibault, former co-chairman and commissioner of the Commission on Wartime Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan (CWC), as vice president of government finance and compliance. Thibault worked for many years at the Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA), serving as Deputy Director from 1994 until 2005.[33] In 2011, Dyncorp set a company record with 12,300 new hires, bringing the total number of employees to 27,000.[34]

Services

Air operations

A DynCorp employee working with aviation support

DynCorp International provides aviation support to reduce the flow of illicit drugs, strengthen law enforcement, and eliminate terrorism.[35][36] Their air operations include the operation of fixed-wing and rotary aircraft on and around aircraft carriers for either combat or non-combat missions, aviation life support missions, and aerial/satellite imagery.[37][38] DynCorp was hired to strengthen the Afghan air force, helping to train Afghan pilots so they could, in turn, train other Afghans.[39] They have also provided air operations support in Iraq, including search and rescue, medical evacuations, and transporting quick reaction forces.[40][41]

Aviation

DynCorp International began as an aeronautical company in the 1950s and continues to provide aviation support globally. Aviation support including emergency response air programs,[42] aircraft maintenance,[43] theater aviation support management,[44] helicopter maintenance support,[45] supportability and testing.[35][36][46]

In 2012, DynCorp played a key part in the Space Shuttle Endeavour’s final flight as it made its way from the Kennedy Space Center in Orlando, FL to the California Science Center in Los Angeles, CA aboard NASA’s specially crafted Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA). The SCA was a uniquely configured Boeing 747-100 aircraft.[47][bettersourceneeded][48] DynCorp mechanics worked with NASA and other support contractors performed maintenance and inspection services to the SCA. DynCorp’s involvement in Endeavour’s final flight was part of a contract awarded to the company in April 2012 by NASA to provide aircraft maintenance and operational support at various locations throughout the country.[49]

Aircraft maintenance

DynCorp provides aircraft maintenance, fleet testing and evaluation for rotary, fixed, "lighter-than-air", and unmanned aircraft.[37][37][38] Specifically, they provide on-site work for project testing, transient, loaner, leased and tested civilian aircraft services. DynCorp also performs supportability and safety studies as well as off-site aircraft safety and spill containment patrols and aircraft recovery services.[51] DynCorp has received contracts for aircraft maintenance with the United States Navy,[46] the U.S. Air Force,[52] the U.S. Army,[53] and NASA.[54] DynCorp provides aircraft maintenance in countries including the Republic of the Philippines,[55] the United States, throughout Europe, Southwest Asia, the Middle East, and Africa.[44] Additionally, DynCorp provides aircraft maintenance support to facilities including the NAS Patuxent River,[56] Johnson Space Center in Houston, the Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, NASA facilities in El Paso, Texas, Edwards Air Force Base in California,[54] and Robins Air Force Base (AFB) in Georgia.[52]

Among its notable awards is its unbroken record of having received a contract in every round of competition under the United States Air Force-managed Contract Field Teams (CFT) program since the CFT program started in 1951.

The company recently opened up an office in Huntsville, Alabama to allow them to further focus on their aviation business, with the Army Materiel Command, Army Contracting Command and the U.S. Army Security Assistance Command, all have or soon will have their headquarters on Redstone Arsenal.[57] DynCorp was selected by the U.S. Air Force to supply support services for the military's T-6 and T-6B trainer aircraft. As part of that contract, DynCorp will open, operate and manage Contractor Operated and Maintained Base Supply facilities at nine different Air Force and Navy locations.[58]

Helicopter maintenance support

DynCorp International has been the incumbent recipient of helicopter maintenance and support contracts supporting the U.S. Army, the U.S. Air Force, and the U.S. Navy.[41][59] DynCorp also received the task order to provide theater aviation support management for US Army helicopters in Europe (TASM-E).[60] The U.S. Army Contracting Command gave a contract to DynCorp International to provide a maintenance augmentation team for the Kuwait Air Force's AH-64D Apache helicopter maintenance program. DynCorp has worked as a partner for supporting the Air Force's fleet of 39 F/A-18 Hornet aircraft program since 1997.[59][61]

Contingency operations

A significant part of the company's business since the 1990s has come from contingency operations[62] support.[63] The company is currently supporting existing bases in Southern Afghanistan, building new ones as needed, and providing base support services.[64]

Development

DynCorp international development

In January 2010, DynCorp International combined with World Wide Humanitarian Services (WWHS), and Casals & Associates to create DI Development.[65] DI Development provides humanitarian aid, reconstruction to conflict and post-conflict areas, and governance reforms.

DynCorp International made several acquisitions in 2009 and 2010 to adapt to the defense sector's shift towards diplomacy and development work, in particular, acquiring an international development firm in order to enter the international aid community.[66] DI Development is particularly active in Africa and Latin America. In Africa, DI Development strengthened government financial management in Ghana, assisted in peace and recovery advancement in Uganda, and led anti-corruption programs in Madagascar, Malawi, and Nigeria.[67][68] In Latin America, DI Development implemented anti-corruption, transparency, and accountability programs in Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Panama, and provided democracy and governance initiatives in Mexico, Bolivia, and the Dominican Republic.[69]

Intelligence training and solutions

In 2010, DynCorp International acquired Phoenix Consulting Group to expand the company into the intelligence training and solutions market.[70][bettersourceneeded][71] By acquiring the Phoenix Consulting Group, DynCorp provides training courses to the intelligence community in the Phoenix Training Center.[72] Dyncorp International currently employs 300 intelligence professionals to offer highly specialized training for intelligence, counterintelligence, special operations and law enforcement personnel.[73] DynCorp also provides linguist operations, including language training, translation specialists recruiting, and field translation support for the U.S. armed forces.[74]

Through a joint venture with McNeil Technologies called Global Linguist Solutions, Dyncorp was awarded a five-year contract to provide management of translation and interpretation services to support U.S. Intelligence and Security Command (INSCOM) as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom.[75] Under the contract, DynCorp employed 6,000 locally hired translators and 1,000 U.S. citizens who are native speakers of languages spoken in Iraq.[76] DynCorp International was also given a $17.1 million task order to provide leadership to military personnel of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The program focuses on training junior and mid-level personnel in areas such as communications, logistics, and engineering.[77]

Steven Schorer, DynCorp's president, expects the training and support logistics for the military and intelligence community to grow significantly in the upcoming years.[78]

Two DynCorp American employees were amongst the five killed in Jordan by a co-worker on 9 November 2015. The incident occurred at the International Police Training Centre in Zarqa. The program the men were working on is funded by the State Department's Bureau of Diplomatic Security and Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement.[79]

Operations and maintenance

DynCorp provides military base operations and vehicle maintenance. They manage installations for military bases for the Department of Defense and the Department of State, and provide security services, fire and rescue emergency services, and IT/telecommunication services. In particular, DynCorp supports a military base camp in Kosovo, providing power plant maintenance, fueling services, and grounds maintenance.[80] DynCorp is also active in vehicular maintenance, in particular providing the United Arab Emirates with depot-level maintenance, facilities management, and commercialization for its 17,000 ground vehicles.[81] In April 2012, DynCorp International was awarded a contract with the U.S. Navy to provide facility support services for personnel from the Naval Mobile Construction Battalion unit Timor-Leste, including living quarters, internet and telephone services, bathroom facilities, laundry services, kitchen facilities, vehicle/driver/language support, procurement services, warehousing and other services.[82]

Additionally, DynCorp formed a joint venture with Oshkosh Defense, Force Protection Industries, and McLane Advanced Technologies to pursue a $3 billion five-year contract issued by the Army for support and maintenance of mine resistant ambush protected vehicles.[78] The U.S. Defense Department gave DynCorp the Nunn-Perry Award in recognition of its mentor-protege arrangement with CenterScope Technologies, for which they provided coaching in development of new markets, establishing international operations and in worldwide logistics. As a result of this mentoring, CTSI grew its revenue from $5 million to $32 million over a period of 18 months.[83]

Security services

DynCorp provides personal security throughout various parts of the world.[84] They supply Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East with threat assessment protection, perimeter security, base security, and guard services.[85] Specifically, DynCorp supported the U.S. Army in the Persian Gulf with vehicle searches, roving patrols, and explosive-detecting dogs.[86] DynCorp also provides personal security to many regions of Iraq and Afghanistan.[87]

Training and mentoring

DynCorp delivers training for multiple sectors, including security sector reform, interior and defense personnel in underdeveloped nations, and law enforcement. Since 1994, DynCorp has trained and deployed 6,000 law enforcement workers in 16 countries, including Iraq and Afghanistan.[88][89] DynCorp is looking to partner with Raytheon as a prime or subcontractor on the Teach, Educate, Coach program, which is part of the Army's Warfighter Field Operations Customer Support program.[78]

Controversies

Latin America incidents

In September 2001, Ecuadorian farmers filed a class-action lawsuit against DynCorp. On February 15, 2013, the court granted summary judgment to DynCorp, dismissing the sole remaining human health and medical monitoring claims brought by Ecuadorian plaintiffs in connection with counternarcotic aerial herbicide spraying operations in southern Colombia.[90] The plaintiffs are preparing to appeal the dismissal.[91]

In this regard, concerning the company's activities and alleged abuses in Colombia, an extensive accusation was presented against DynCorp at the Hearing on Biodiversity of the Permanent Peoples' Tribunal, session on Colombia, which took place at the Cacarica Humanitarian Zone from February 24 to 27, 2007.[92]

Three DynCorp employees died when their helicopter was shot down during an anti-drug mission in Peru in 1992.[8]

On November 29, 2008, a lengthy article in The New York Times questioned the potential conflict of interest in the hiring by Veritas Capital Fund, LP, holding company for DynCorp, of Gen. Barry McCaffrey. McCaffrey had previously served as White House "Drug Czar" where he shaped future federal public-private partnership in drug enforcement policy.[93]

Sex trafficking of children in Bosnia

In the late 1990s, two employees, Ben Johnston, a former DynCorp aircraft mechanic, and Kathryn Bolkovac, a U.N. International Police Force monitor, independently alleged that DynCorp employees in Bosnia engaged in sex with minors, and sold them to each other as slaves.[94][95] Both Johnston and Bolkovac were fired, and Johnston was later placed into protective custody before leaving several days later.[96]

On June 2, 2000, an investigation was launched in the DynCorp hangar at Comanche Base Camp, one of two U.S. bases in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and all DynCorp personnel were detained for questioning.[96]CID spent several weeks investigating and the results appear to support Johnston's allegations.[96] DynCorp had fired five employees for similar illegal activities prior to the charges.[97] Many of the employees accused of sex trafficking were forced to resign under suspicion of illegal activity. However, as of 2014 no one had been prosecuted.[98]

In 2002, Bolkovac filed a lawsuit in Great Britain against DynCorp for unfair dismissal due to a protected disclosure (whistleblowing), and won.[99] Bolkovac co-authored a book with Cari Lynn titled The Whistleblower: Sex Trafficking, Military Contractors And One Woman's Fight For Justice. In 2010, a film titled The Whistleblower, starring Rachel Weisz and Vanessa Redgrave, was released.[100][101]

Iraq incidents

According to The New York Times, the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR) found that "DynCorp seemed to act almost independently of its reporting officers at the Department of State, billing the United States for millions of dollars of work that were not authorized and beginning other jobs without a go-ahead."[102] The report states that the findings of DynCorp's misconduct on a $188 million job to buy weapons and build quarters for the Iraqi police were serious enough to warrant a fraud inquiry.[102] A U.S. government audit report of October 2007 revealed that $1.3 billion was spent on a contract with DynCorp for training Iraqi police.[103] The auditors stated that the program was mismanaged to such an extent that they were unable to determine how the money was spent.[103]

In February 2007 federal auditors cited DynCorp for wasting millions on projects, including building an unapproved, Olympic-sized swimming pool at the behest of Iraqi police officials.[104] In April 2011, DynCorp agreed to pay $7.7 million to the U.S. government to settle claims that it had inflated claims for construction contracts in Iraq.[105]

On October 11, 2007, a DynCorp security guard in a U.S. State Department convoy killed a taxi driver in Baghdad. According to several witnesses, the taxi did not pose a threat to the security of the convoy.[106]

A January 2010 report by the SIGIR assessed that oversight of DynCorp police training contracts by the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs found that INL exhibited weak oversight of the DynCorp task orders for support of the Iraqi police training program.[107][108][109] It found that INL lacks sufficient resources and controls to adequately manage the task orders with DynCorp. As a result, more than $2.5 billion in U.S. funds were vulnerable to waste and fraud, although SIGIR's Iraq reconstruction inspector noted that there was no indication that DynCorp had misspent any of the $2.5 billion.[110][111]

Afghanistan incidents

In 2009, DynCorp contractors paid a 15-year-old Afghan Bacha Bazi performer to perform lap dances and entertain them in Kunduz. Several Afghans were later arrested and investigated.[112][113][114] A Wikileaks cable released after the incident stated that the Afghan interior minister at the time, Hanif Atmar, asked the assistant U.S. ambassador to try to "quash" both the story and release of video from the incident.[112][115][116][117] In response to the incident, DynCorp fired four senior managers and established a chief compliance officer position, which focused on ethics, business conduct, related investigations, and regulatory compliance.[113] As of 2014, no DynCorp employee has faced criminal charges.[citation needed]

On July 30, 2010, a riot broke out when an Afghan car and a DynCorp vehicle crashed on a road near Kabul International Airport.[118][119] Although initial reports blamed the company and claimed four Afghans were killed in the accident, Sayed Abdul Ghaffar, the head of the Kabul police criminal investigations division, told The New York Times that the Afghan driver had caused the accident and said only one Afghan died in the wreck.[120]

Mozambique incident

According to Mozambican media reports, the Mozambican government seized and impounded the 16-vehicle shipment pending the outcome of investigations into alleged tax evasion and deception by OTT Technologies Mozambique.[121]

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↑ Jones, William H. (July 12, 1978). "Dynalectron Has An Oil Answer; New Process For Coal Conversion." The Washington Post.

↑ Fuel Hopes Spur Dynalectron; Work Begun on Process in 1963. The New York Times. June 20, 1979. "The current petroleum shortfall and renewed interest in synthetic fuels have made the stock of Dynalectron, a small suburban Washington concern with a coal-to-oil process, one of the hottest issues on the American Stock Exchange."

↑ Tucker, Elizabeth (November 10, 1987). "Group Raises DynCorp Bid to $267 Million". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on February 26, 2017. Retrieved February 25, 2017. (Subscription required (help)). [Quote:] DynCorp, the McLean high-technology and services company that last week agreed to be taken private in a leveraged buyout worth $248 million, said yesterday that the buying group had raised its price to $267.3 million to top an offer from another bidder. The increased offer, made by an employe-management group led by DynCorp President Dan R. Bannister, is equal to $24.75 a share, the company said. … Last week, the company had agreed to a $23-a-share offer from the group. / The increased offer, made by an employee-management group led by DynCorp President Dan R. Bannister, is equal to $ 24.75 a share, the company said.... Frumberg said DynCorp's plan to go private through the Bannister group's leveraged buyout was spurred by fear that Posner could be planning a hostile takeover attempt.